Institutions, innovation and
consequences of Inaction
Biofuels and food security interactions
Carlo Hamelinck
2014 11 20
Biofuels and food security interactions
© ECOFYS | |
Recap: Why bioenergy?
> Renewable and sustainable
– Regrows
– Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
– (After initial carbon investment and payback period)
> Versatile
– Can provide base and peak load electricity
– Complementary to other renewable energy sources
– Many different energy products: power, heat, fuels
– Paves the road to biobased materials & chemicals
– Only near term option for heavy transport, shipping, aviation
> Cost effective
– Competitive with other renewable energy sources and with fossil
– Works with existing infrastructure
– Connects to existing business
> Secures energy supply
– Many types of feedstock, including waste streams
– Locally and globally available, sometimes abundant
– Saves on oil import costs, diverts from oil states
> Rural development
– Employment opportunities along supply chain
– Synergy with other agriculture
2014 11 20 Biofuels and food security interactions
© ECOFYS | |
Sustainable world
cannot do without bioenergy
> World bioenergy potential ranges from <50 to >1000 EJ/yr in various studies (IPCC)
> Question should NOT be: how much can we get sustainable?
> RATHER: How can we sustainably produce as much as possible?
2014 11 20 Biofuels and food security interactions
© ECOFYS | |
Responsible project development
> Addax Bioenergy started cane ethanol production May 2014
– 10,000 hectares + outgrowers
– 85 million litres ethanol for international market
– 15 MW electricity for national grid (20% of Sierra Leone’s demand)
– Workforce 2,750 people
> Governance with international standards
– Certified for Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials
– Clean Development Mechanism under UNFCCC
– Complies with sustainable development guidelines of the AfDB and IFC
> Additional Farmer Development Programme (FDP):
– 2400 hectares of rice fields for 53 communities
– Addax Bioenergy has trained >2400 local farmers (65% women)
Biofuels and food security interactions
[Photo’s: courtesy of Sandström / Addax]
2014 11 20
© ECOFYS | |
Tanzania: elements of biofuels policy framework
> Governance :
– Include stakeholders in national Biofuels Technical Advisory Board
– Improved attention to land acquisition process
– Improved attention to Environmental Impact Assessment
– Monitor projects, learn and adapt
– Capacity building all levels – especially communities
> Careful development
– Not too fast, not too large (20 kha), not too long
– First careful selection viable projects – then intensive guidance
> Improve agricultural system
– Access to know-how (schools, extension workers)
● Obligatory 30% smallholder inclusion
– Access to means (machinery, agro chemicals)
– Access to markets (logistics, co-operatives, auctions)
Biofuels and food security interactions
[Photo’s by Hamelinck]
2014 11 20
© ECOFYS | |
Requirements to biofuels in western markets
Reduce and avoid Indirect Land Use Change
• Use of fallow or degraded lands
• Yield increase above trendline
• Use of residues with limited current uses
• Sustainable intensification of land use
• Aquatic biomass production
• Methodology for cost-effective certification
• Of low/no ILUC biofuels
• For use in policy and certification schemes
• Tested (Brazil, Indonesia, Mozambique, S-Africa)
• Currently tested in the European Union
• Developed by WWF, Ecofys, RSB
Low ILUC approachesLow Indirect Impact Biofuels (LIIB) is
Biofuels and food security interactions
Indonesia
Oil palm on unused land
+
Brazil
Integrate cane with cattle farming
2014 11 20

T5 a hamelinck_consequences of inaction

  • 1.
    Institutions, innovation and consequencesof Inaction Biofuels and food security interactions Carlo Hamelinck 2014 11 20 Biofuels and food security interactions
  • 2.
    © ECOFYS || Recap: Why bioenergy? > Renewable and sustainable – Regrows – Reduces greenhouse gas emissions – (After initial carbon investment and payback period) > Versatile – Can provide base and peak load electricity – Complementary to other renewable energy sources – Many different energy products: power, heat, fuels – Paves the road to biobased materials & chemicals – Only near term option for heavy transport, shipping, aviation > Cost effective – Competitive with other renewable energy sources and with fossil – Works with existing infrastructure – Connects to existing business > Secures energy supply – Many types of feedstock, including waste streams – Locally and globally available, sometimes abundant – Saves on oil import costs, diverts from oil states > Rural development – Employment opportunities along supply chain – Synergy with other agriculture 2014 11 20 Biofuels and food security interactions
  • 3.
    © ECOFYS || Sustainable world cannot do without bioenergy > World bioenergy potential ranges from <50 to >1000 EJ/yr in various studies (IPCC) > Question should NOT be: how much can we get sustainable? > RATHER: How can we sustainably produce as much as possible? 2014 11 20 Biofuels and food security interactions
  • 4.
    © ECOFYS || Responsible project development > Addax Bioenergy started cane ethanol production May 2014 – 10,000 hectares + outgrowers – 85 million litres ethanol for international market – 15 MW electricity for national grid (20% of Sierra Leone’s demand) – Workforce 2,750 people > Governance with international standards – Certified for Roundtable for Sustainable Biomaterials – Clean Development Mechanism under UNFCCC – Complies with sustainable development guidelines of the AfDB and IFC > Additional Farmer Development Programme (FDP): – 2400 hectares of rice fields for 53 communities – Addax Bioenergy has trained >2400 local farmers (65% women) Biofuels and food security interactions [Photo’s: courtesy of Sandström / Addax] 2014 11 20
  • 5.
    © ECOFYS || Tanzania: elements of biofuels policy framework > Governance : – Include stakeholders in national Biofuels Technical Advisory Board – Improved attention to land acquisition process – Improved attention to Environmental Impact Assessment – Monitor projects, learn and adapt – Capacity building all levels – especially communities > Careful development – Not too fast, not too large (20 kha), not too long – First careful selection viable projects – then intensive guidance > Improve agricultural system – Access to know-how (schools, extension workers) ● Obligatory 30% smallholder inclusion – Access to means (machinery, agro chemicals) – Access to markets (logistics, co-operatives, auctions) Biofuels and food security interactions [Photo’s by Hamelinck] 2014 11 20
  • 6.
    © ECOFYS || Requirements to biofuels in western markets Reduce and avoid Indirect Land Use Change • Use of fallow or degraded lands • Yield increase above trendline • Use of residues with limited current uses • Sustainable intensification of land use • Aquatic biomass production • Methodology for cost-effective certification • Of low/no ILUC biofuels • For use in policy and certification schemes • Tested (Brazil, Indonesia, Mozambique, S-Africa) • Currently tested in the European Union • Developed by WWF, Ecofys, RSB Low ILUC approachesLow Indirect Impact Biofuels (LIIB) is Biofuels and food security interactions Indonesia Oil palm on unused land + Brazil Integrate cane with cattle farming 2014 11 20

Editor's Notes

  • #2 The consequences of inaction are twofold: If we do not support biofuels, because we are concerned about the risks, we do not get the large volume of biofuels that we would like to have If we keep talking forever, if we do not offer solutions (simple, economically viable) to produce biofuels in a sustainable way, biofuels will still continue to be developed, and in some regions this will be in a way that you may find unsustainable. I think that 1 and 2 go hand in hand. First, I’d like to revisit number one. We need a large volume of biofuels. Then in the remaining slides, I will try to put up a few ideas for solutions. I need to note that food security comes in from two sides: the feedstock that we are drawing from the global market, perhaps impacting price and volatility, and from the feedstock side in developing countries, which is currently negligible, but that offers opportunities and threats.
  • #3 It is a lot that we expect from biofuels, bioenergy. If you ask for too much, you may end up empty handed.
  • #4 A few years ago my company, Ecofys, carried out a scenario study for WWF. Slide My small country is a superstar in deliberating how much biomass the world can sustainably produce and then discuss how much of that we could reasonably take. It is a recipe for inaction.
  • #5 However much we talk about biofuels in developing countries. Really hardly anything is happening. Lot’s of initiatives, quite a few failed. What we really need to improve food security is investments in agriculture. One project deserves your special attention. Slide. While fertile land is used for the production of cane, concurrently the food production of the larger project area improves. Biofuels and food security can be combined.
  • #6 Drivers are: Energy Security (key) Rural Development Land valorisation Agricultural Development Capacity Building (NOT …Climate…) Concerns are Food Security Displacement and Resettlement Environmental impacts Project failure They asked for a lot. Some of which was actually already well arranged in other pieces of legislation, like land ownership. Small problem is that people do not know the law and that it is not followed. So, we jointly developed a Biofuels Act with a regulatory framework. Slide This is three years ago. The latest news I have from a few months ago, is that they are still talking. Inaction!
  • #7 In Europe stakeholders are concerned about Indirect Land Use Change. This is slightly related to food security, via the international markets. Therefore, I think that solutions on ILUC will also assist food security. Ecofys works on ILUC free solutions. This means: no leakage of impacts outside the project area. Slide